Coat-hanger.



W. E.' RAPE; GOAT HANGER. A'PPLIOA'I'ION FILED APE.29, 1911.

Patnted Feb.20, 1912.

WILLIAM ELMER RAPE, 0F CATAWISSA, PENNSYLVANIA.

COAT-HANGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 20, 1912.

Application filed April 29, 1911. Serial No. 624,078.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lVIL-LLAM ELMER RAPE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Catawissa, in the county of Columbia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Coat-Hanger, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to coat hangers and its object is to provide adevice of this character having means for clamping upon a supportingstructure, the weight of the garment held by the hanger being suflicientto bind the hanger upon its supporting structure and thus hold itagainst displace ment relative to said structure.

The hanger is especially designed for use in passenger coaches and thelike, the clamping portion thereof being adapted to engage a portion ofthe window casing and to tightly grip it when a garment is suspended.from the hook of the hanger.

Another object is to provide a hanger of the type set forth which issimple in construction, cheap to manufacture, and can be readily carriedin the pocket.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can he made within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen.

shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a front elevation of the hanger, the samebeing shown in engagement with a portion of a window casing. Fig. 2 is arear elevation of the hanger, one of the pads used in connectiontherewith being partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the hanger.Fig. 4 is a perspective view thereof with the respective parts detached.Fig. 5 is a section on line AB Fig. 2.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates thebase plate of the clamp, this plate having a jaw 2 at one end and havingan opening 3 at its center while two pairs of parallel slots 4 arepreferably arranged longitudinally within the plate. A slidable plate 5is mounted on the base plate and has a jaw 6 at one end and a T-shapedslot 7 adjacent its center, two arms of said slot being extendedparallel to the jaw 6 while the other arm is extended longitudinally ofthe plate. Lugs 8 preferably four in number, extend from the slidableplate 5 and are movably mounted within the the slots 4, these lugs beingso disposed that, when the plate 5 is shifted in one direction relativeto the base plate 1, all of the lugs will be brought simultaneously intocontact with the walls at one end of the slots 4, and v1ce versa.

A shifting block 9 is arranged upon one face of the slidable plate 5 andhas a pivot stud 10 arranged at the center thereof and which extendsloosely through the slot 7 and is swiveled within the opening 3. Thispivot stud 10 thus serves as a means for holding the block 9 and theplates '5 and 1 assembled. A shifting stud 11 extends from the lowerportion of the block 9 and projects into the slot 7 but does not engagethe plate 1. A hook 12 is swiveled within the block 9, said hook, whenin operative po sition, being extended oppositely to the longitudinalarm of the slot 7, as clearly indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. A cushion13 of rubber or the like is cemented or otherwise secured to the inneror working face of the jaw 6 and another cushion 14 is similarlyconnected to the inner or working face of the jaw 2 and to the adjacentface of the base plate 1.

It will be obvious that, when the hook 12 is swung upwardly in thedirection indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the stud 11 willpress against the lower portion of the wall of slot 7 and shift theslidable plate 5 longitudinally relative to the base plate 1, thusmoving the jaw 6 away from the jaw 2, this movement being permissible inview of the fact that the pivot stud 10 is constantly in position to bereceived by the longitudinal portion of the slot 7. lVith the jaws thusspread apart, the clamp formed by the plates'l and 5 and the partsconnected thereto, can be placed astride a supporting structure, such asone of the strips of a window casing C. Hook 12 can then be swungdownwardly to operative position, as shown in Fig. 1 and the stud 11will therefore work against the wall of slot 7 so as to shift plate 5relative to base 1 and draw the jaw 6 toward the jaw 2. The two jawswill thus tightly clamp upon the supporting structure G, the cushions 18and 14 serving to prevent said structure from being marred by the jaws.It will be apparent that when the weight of a garment is applied to thehook 12, there will be no danger of the clamp becoming released from thesupporting structure C. In fagt the clamping action of the jaws willincrease in proportion to the increase in weight applied to the hook.

A device such as described is advantageous because it can be readilycarried in the pocket and can be quickly set up for use by attaching itto the window casing of a passenger coach or to any other suitablestructure within convenient reach.

WVhat is claimed is 1. A garment hanger including a clamp havingslidably connected jaws, a hook, and means separate from and operated bythe hook when subjected to a load, for drawing the jaws of the clamptoward each other.

2. A garment hanger including a clamp having opposed jaws, a hook, andmeans separate from and operated by the hook when subjected to a load,for shifting the jaws toward each other.

3. A garment hanger including a clamp having slidably connected jaws, agarment engaging member movably connected to the jaws, and meansoperated by said member when subjected to the weight of a garment, forsliding the jaws toward each other.

4. A garment hanger including a base, a jaw extending therefrom, aslidably mounted jaw connected to the base, and a hook carrying memberconnected to the base for ihifting the slidable jaw relative to the ass.

'5. A garment hanger including a base having a jaw, a jaw slidablerelative to the base, a member pivotally connected to the base, meansrevoluble with said member for shiftingthe slidable jaw relative to theaw upon the base, and a garment supporting element movable with andsupported by? said member.

6. A garment hanger including a base having a jaw at one end, a plateslidably mounted on the base and having a jaw at one end, a shiftingblock pivotally connected to the base, cooperating means upon said blockand the plate for shifting said plate relative to the base during therotation of the block, and a garment engaging member extending from theblock.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

IV-ILLIAM ELMER RAPE.

WVitnesses:

B. F. SHARPLEss, GEO. H. VASTINE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing; the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0.

